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  1. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Amazon US book sales rank.

    Yeah, and I wonder how much of that comes from a lack of seeing the new rules in context. There are literally no preview videos on the official D&D channel of the designers, or anyone else, running a game using the new rules. There was the game at Gen Con, but that felt more focused on the...
  2. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Amazon US book sales rank.

    I'm glad to hear that. Having used the book for a few weeks, the disparity between the marketing campaign and the book's actual utility is pretty wild.
  3. M

    D&D 5E (2024) Hobby Store Exclusive (Special Cover) PHB Pre-Orders Cancelled

    If that's true, then I expect you'll see more books printed. In my experience, there's a certain threshold of errors you expect in any manufacturing process. However, if you go above that percentage there are contractual obligations that can kick in. The manufacturing might need to refund some...
  4. M

    D&D 5E (2024) Hobby Store Exclusive (Special Cover) PHB Pre-Orders Cancelled

    Weird. It's two weeks post-release in North America and there are plenty of copies, some discounted 20%, available on eBay. I wonder if there was a logistics mistake, given it's been a few weeks. When two products are so similar in specifications - weight, size, etc. - it's easy to get them...
  5. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    Thanks! FWIW, used them in my game yesterday and was happy with how they worked. I had a gang of troglodytes with the Lazy trait guarding an area. One PC used Stealth to scout out the room, and I described the trogs as lounging about and sluggish. The party used a combo of Calm Emotions and a...
  6. M

    How Dragonbane Pointed out the Clashing Desires of My Gaming Group

    Wow, I am sorry to hear that. I'm a big believer that the GM should have at least as much fun as the players. Spending all the time prepping to find that people don't want to play what you prepared is rough. I'd suggest trying Gloomhaven. The Jaws of the Lion game is relatively inexpensive and...
  7. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    So has anyone taken a look at the new stat block format for D&D '24? At a first glance, I really like the two column format. EDIT: The Basic Rules have a selection of familiar and summoned monster stat blocks.
  8. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    Tiefling has fire resistance IIRC, and barbarian is the big one. Though honestly, I kind of wish that rage just gave a renewing pool of temporary hit points each round. Resistance is very feast or famine.
  9. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    It matters somewhat. Mostly for creatures that an energy type defines, like a fire elemental. I think you can safely ignore types and resistances as long as you are upfront with the players. I don't think it makes for particularly good gameplay, unless the monster is a puzzle to solve.
  10. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    So @SlyFlourish mentioned FATE-style aspects, so I took a pass at adding those to my orc stat block. Here's what I have: Traits are keywords to help guide roleplay and they grant advantage to checks that take advantage of them and disadvantage to checks where they would be a hindrance. In this...
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  12. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    Nifty! I like this approach and am going to look at using it in my games. I like that it makes spellcasting more of a menu of focused options. If I keep it to simple spells, I might even be able to summarize spells within the stat block.
  13. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    Inspired by this thread the work done by @Quickleaf and @SlyFlourish here is my own take on a reduced stat block. I've started with the orc, so a much simpler monster, but I also found that I could junk the six ability scores, saves, and skills by reducing down to three attributes that should...
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    1725334372042.png

  15. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    And FWIW, if you haven't looked at Forge of Foes and are interested in this thread's topic, it's a must buy. I've found it invaluable.
  16. M

    D&D 5E (2014) Radically shrinking stat blocks

    This looks cool! I've been thinking about developing two stat blocks. One for a monster book entry that has all the details, and an abstract one that just gives what you need to run a critter at the table. I literally just ran a session (finished 11 minutes ago by my clock!) with some critters...
  17. M

    D&D General The Resurrection of Mike Mearls Games.

    I can't love this comment enough. TTRPGs are so great because they make us all game designers, glad you're digging into it!
  18. M

    D&D General The Resurrection of Mike Mearls Games.

    Ha! It's definitely tricky, having been part of it for 4e, 5e, and in my own designs. And I know you're joking but FWIW, in my own games I took a cue from video games and treat it like a terrain feature. I've been using these rules for a few years now. Shadowed terrain lets you hide. It has a...
  19. M

    D&D General The Resurrection of Mike Mearls Games.

    Hey all! Very late to the responses thanks to Gen Con (fun!), COVID (not fun!), and other such stuff. Really appreciate the encouragement here. It definitely keeps me fired up for design. Thanks!
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